Homelessness

Having seen the problem of homelessness first-hand in Harborne, I know it is an important issue in our constituency. In a civilised society, it is unacceptable that people should be faced with homelessness. I believe it is vital that we help these vulnerable people to get their lives back on track.

I want to help to build on the Conservative Party's proud record on combating homelessness. Since 2010 we have made over £500 million available to local councils and the voluntary sector, to give them the tools to prevent homelessness. This has helped to prevent or relieve over one million cases of homelessness, but there is still more to be done.

I welcomed Theresa May’s manifesto commitment to halve the number of rough sleepers by 2022 and eliminate it altogether by 2027. We will achieve this through the full implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act next year. The Act, which was passed last month, hailed by Shelter as “the first major piece of homelessness legislation for 15 years”.

In order to hit the ground running on this issue if I am lucky enough to be elected as your representative, I've already met with the new Conservative Mayor for the West Midlands, Andy Street, to discuss this issue. You can see a video of our conversation here, as well as more about how Andy and I plan to tackle homelessness in an article by Harborne, Edgbaston and Moseley Life here.